Fibs, Lies and Scripture

By John Philip

Scripture, like statistics, can be used in ways that are both misleading and dishonest. Written by a man who believes the bible's truths, this book explores many of the ways in which the Bible is misused and abused. It reveals that many commonly-held beliefs are both false and unscriptural and urges fellow Christians to test the claims of all who say their messages are based on scripture.
The book, which is written in plain English and avoids Christian jargon, uses modern examples to investigate scripture use. The examples investigated include abortion, gay rights, charitable giving, baptismal methods and doctrine, the practice of tithing, repetition of communal prayers, and environmental and economic activism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Philip
• Release date: Mar 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476040875

John Philip

John Philip is a simple follower of Jesus. His career has taken him through teaching, company management, editing and writing, and into academia. He lives with his lovely wife, dogs and chickens on a windswept hill farm, with frequent visits to and from his equally lovely children.

Book preview

Fibs, Lies and Scripture

How the bible is misused and abused

by John Philip

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 John Philip

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicised), NIV. Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Limited, a division of Hachette UK. All rights reserved worldwide. New International Version and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. English Standard Version and ESV are registered trademarks of Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (GW) are from GOD’S WORD. Copyright 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. GOD’S WORD is a registered trademark of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. New American Standard Bible and NASB are registered trademarks of The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked (NWT) are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Copyright 2010 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (The Message) are from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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Table of contents

1 Introduction

2 Supporting the argument

- Context

- Legalism

- Chapter and verse

- How were texts used by Jesus and the scripture writers?

3 Taking things literally

- Translations

- Languages work differently

- Preconceptions

- Pick ‘n’ mix

- Contradictions

4 Building scripture

- The Old Testament

- The New Testament

- Shifting sand

5 The Word of God

- Is the bible the word of god?

- Does the bible hold all the answers?

- Can the bible become an idol?

- What does scripture say about itself?

- What does scripture say about the word of god?

6 A question of trust

- Salesmen

- Wanting to believe

- Trust

7 The politics of scripture

- Politics

- Single-issue groups

- Charity

- Parachurches

8 A dangerous book

- Magic, charms and superstition

- The unpardonable sin

9 A final word

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Introduction

The phrase ‘lies, damned lies, and statistics’ was popularised by Mark Twain, who attributed it to the nineteenth century Prime Minister of Great Britain, Benjamin Disraeli. The suggestion, of course, is that the worst form of dishonesty is to use numbers to distort reality and so enable a devious person to deceive an audience. In reality, Disraeli did not coin the expression, but never mind; the great and good often receive unwarranted accolades. An earlier version, dated 1891, which referred to ‘three degrees of falsehood: the first is a fib, the second is a lie, and then come statistics’ is attributed to the author and folklorist Eliza Gutch, and expresses rather better the idea that there are different degrees of dishonesty (1).

First are common, everyday fibs, little white lies, minor omissions and exaggerations. These fibs are often used for bolstering a story or improving appearances rather than deliberately to mislead. They generally have no well-planned ulterior motive, but are a product of our natural tendency to make ourselves or some cause about which we care look as good as possible in others’ eyes. The politician who has done nothing other than turn up and vote the way his party told him refers afterwards to the vital role he has played in the national debate; and the salesman who has barely had time even to read the sales information assures the customer of a product’s proven value.

Next come the deliberate lies, straightforward misinformation and blatant attempts to mislead. These are the lies that are designed to fool other people. They have some underlying motive. The politician claims expenses for staying in a hotel when he knows perfectly well that he actually spent the night at a friend’s house; and the salesman tells the customer that his product will guarantee wealth in a year’s time when he knows that the sales information specifically tells him otherwise.

And worst of all – statistics! Used honestly as a means of finding and demonstrating the truth, statistics are helpful: used dishonestly in order to mislead, they are the biggest form of lie. It takes deliberation and practised skill to use data dishonestly. The perpetrator must use elements of truth in order to deceive the audience. Lies based on statistics are the easiest to spread and the hardest to disprove. The politician quotes the crime rate having first changed the method by which crimes are counted; and the salesman uses the results of one generally-favourable drug trial to sell his medicine to doctors, knowing that five other trials demonstrate strongly the long-term dangers of using the product.

But this book is not about statistics; it is about scripture and so we will now ignore the politician and the salesman, and focus instead upon Christians. Is there a hierarchy of dishonesties amongst Christians? It’s fairly obvious that I think there is, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this book. I believe from experience that one of the very worst of these dishonesties is the deliberate misuse of scripture. Scripture to the Christian is like data to a scientist; it is the means by which we measure spiritual matters, relationships and behaviour.

For the purpose of ensuring common understanding, I am taking the meaning of scripture as writings which are divinely inspired and reveal divine truths. The word ‘scripture’, of course, simply means ‘writings’ and is not exclusive to Jews and Christians, but is a familiar feature of almost all religions. In common with most Christians, I regard the Christian scriptures as being divinely inspired by the God above all gods, who is named Yahweh and whose son is Jesus of Nazareth, the chosen saviour.

I have tried to cut out as much jargon as I can. In general, we Christians are jargon fanatics. It must be bewildering for outsiders when we start talking about redemption, glorification or justification. Worse still, words such as ‘sin’ are used in everyday speech as something very different from the scriptural sense, leaving both non-Christians and some Christians confused about what God really wants of them. Within Christian circles, jargon is thrown into discussion and teaching as if our very salvation (oops!) depended on it. In my opinion, it often misleads and obscures the clear-cut messages that Jesus gave in plain and simple language.

This is neither a theological treatise nor an attempt to condemn anyone. It is a simple exploration of some of the issues surrounding the ways in which scripture is used. It is for every individual Christian to decide whether to read with hearts and minds closed by tradition, habit and previous teaching or to be prepared to do so with hearts and minds open to revelation. It is for every individual Christian to decide in conscience, guided by the Holy Spirit, whether the messages in this book are true.

I have not wasted everyone’s time writing ‘he or she’, ‘his or hers’, or any of the ugly words and phrasing that circumvent charges of sexism. Throughout, I have used male language except where I am talking specifically about women. This should not be regarded in any way as anti-female. I do not hold with the concept of a male-dominated church or male-dominated anything else. My choice is simply one of keeping the language simple. If anyone is upset, I apologise in advance.

Quotations from the bible are from the New International UK version (NIV UK), as this happens to be the one that I have used most consistently for many years. I occasionally quote from other versions when demonstrating certain misuses of the bible, but unless the version is specifically stated you may safely assume that any quotation is from the NIV UK. One result of my using this version is that some readers may consider the spellings in quotations to be odd. The same, of course, will be the case with my own text, which uses UK English spellings.

For reasons that will become clear as you read this book, I do not give bible references by chapter and verse within the text. However, for those who want them, I have listed such references at the end of sections along with various other notes.

Notes

(1) For more information about the history of these expressions have a look at Wikipedia. Return to text

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Supporting the argument

Over the centuries scripture has been used to justify all manner of things, both good and bad, and the practice continues today. In principle, there is nothing wrong with using scripture to support one’s point of view, so long as it is done wisely. In fact, making a Christian argument that is not backed up by the weight of scripture seems most unwise. However, the way in which people use scripture is frequently misleading, often foolish and sometimes just downright dishonest.

The most common mistakes, in my opinion are:

- taking things out of context;

- using scripture legalistically;

- misunderstanding the history of scripture;

- making false assumptions about the people and events witnessed in scripture.

In exploring these I will use a range of examples. Many of these examples I have witnessed first-hand. Some are cases of people justifying strongly-held opinions, and such opinions may or may not be correct. What we are looking at, however, is not whether the opinions are correct, misleading, daft or lies, but whether scripture is being used in a valid way.

Context

I am deliberately going to start with a rather trivial example. The reason for this is so that the reader does not focus on the subject of the example, but the principles being discussed. By the end of this section I hope you will see how the principles apply to issues of much greater significance.

In Leviticus we read, ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.’ (1)

That’s what the bible says. Look at any version you want and you’ll see the same message. Older versions may use words such as ‘diverse’ or refer specifically to keeping separate ‘linen and woollen’ clothing, but the meaning is unchanged. Why then do I see good Christian men wearing smart woollen suits lined with some other material? Does this decree apply to knitted fabrics, leather, lace or embroidery, or is it only to materials that are actually woven? Maybe knitting had not been invented when the Israelites received this regulation and so perhaps it’s okay to wear clothing that combines knitting, crochet and lace. Oh! but machine weaving is also a relatively recent invention, so maybe my suit is okay.

But hang on! Is this a sensible discussion? Is it worth raising the issue? Is this rule from Leviticus intended for me, today? If it is, then surely I must also take note of the other decrees in the same passage. ‘Do not steal.’ (2) Well, that’s okay. No problem there! ‘Do not curse